


ghost

by lezz1e



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Broken Bones, Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, F/F, Fights, Internalized Homophobia, Reunions, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-15
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-07-29 00:28:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16252892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lezz1e/pseuds/lezz1e
Summary: Pressing weight onto her toes, arms sprung up and adrenaline high- ready to run to Violet's dead body.She shakes her head and takes in a deep breath- Violet's alive, she's alive. She's not-Flashes of hordes and recognition, radiators and handcuffs, forests and bandits, guns and snow. Shit.





	ghost

"So, erm, first of all thanks for helping us escape this raider place by the way," Louis says, his voice jumping up and down with poorly covered fear. His hands still shaking and his feet still nipping at the floor threatening to trip and fall. His eyes scanning the corridor- carefully, meticulously in a way that Clementine has never seen before.  

"No problem," Clementine replies, her eyes quickly scanning over Louis, an inadequate comforting smile thrown at him. Her bow raised and ready to shoot. 

Pressing weight onto her toes, arms sprung up and adrenaline high- ready to run to Violet's dead body. 

She shakes her head and takes in a deep breath- Violet's alive, she's alive. She's not- 

Flashes of hordes and recognition, radiators and handcuffs, forests and bandits, guns and snow. Shit.  

"Also who is it? The person you like? From the game? It's been bugging me since I got here," Louis continues, trying to push his anxieties onto drama. His eyes scanning around the room for a weapon, for something that could make him feel a little safer.  

Clementine ignores him and runs the conversation she had with Violet over in her mind again: "we meet at the entrance with the big curved door, in and out, a rescue. No stupid revenge bullshit". Her breathing picks up, she follows the floor with her eyes, the beige colour of the skirting matching the skirting at the front of the building. Her bow close to her heart, the yearning and pain getting too much for her to handle. 

Stopping at the corner and pushing them both to the wall, Clementine takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. Her eyebrows furrowing, her throat threatening to let out reels and reels of bile and her feet- her feet too scared to take another step. 

She feels like a child. She almost wants to look up and take Lee's hand. 

It makes her sick.  

"Hey, hey. I'll check," Louis says, and Clementine doesn't know how long they've been standing there for. 

It makes her sick. 

"All clear," Louis says, his voice trying to be melodic, but instead revealing how fucking terrified he was. His smile too relived, too eager to believe that it was all over.  

Clementine's heart sank. Her fingers dig into the tape on the handle of the bow. Her mind unravels like a ball of string. Too many memories run and run and run and run and run until she feels like she'd going to overheat. Her stomach screams and shouts and begs. Her eyes dry up, ready to mourn and bury and drag another body into her mental cemetery.  

Her arms sink and she starts to feel like she's cursed- that maybe the people before this zombie shit were right. 

People like her, people like Violet, never got happy endings. No matter how hard they tried.  

"Then where's Violet?" She comments, managing to drag the words from her mouth. She regrets it immediately.  

"Violet's meant to be here?" Louis asks, worry written across his face in permanent marker. His eyes looking down to the floor, looking for somewhere to dig. He quickly looks up, his mouth opening to speak before closing again. 

"God, Fuck! Clementine!" Violet screams and Clementine whips her head around so fast the world spins for a moment. Her heart beats hard in her chest, her hands shaking and ready to press against an open wound. She's expecting it. 

She's expecting to turn around and find Violet with a stab wound.  

Breaths stutter out of her like puke- the toxins seeping out of her with a calm gradually rising. The sight of Violet, with tiny bruises and cuts, no critical wounds adorning her body. Her shoulders sink slightly with calm. 

"Help me get Omar out of here," Violet says, her arms wrapping around Omar trying to keep the weight off of his leg. Her face twisted into a frantic, pissed and worried smile. Her legs shuffling forwards slowly with her eyes watching the room- hyperaware of her pace. 

"I can get far away enough from this place by my own, I just need cover," Omar states, trying to push himself off of Violet. His face scrunched, eyes covered in exhaustion and his breaths panting- he's tired, he's so tired. 

"I don't think so," Clementine comments bluntly, her eyebrows furrowing as Louis clutches her wrist to stop her. His eyes glinting with something Clementine can't deceiver- something she missed, something she didn't know about Omar, something that you only knew if you'd be around long enough.  

"Me and Clem will find Aasim. Louis stay here with Omar, don't let him walk off like an idiot," Violet orders, moving quickly before anyone can argue. Her stride furious and angry and vengeful and mad- but her feet scrapped the floor too much to be able to hide her exhaustion.  

They were fucked. 

Clementine had seen this before. She knew that desperation was never good- knew that it would take everything away from them without giving them Aasim back. 

It scared her. 

"You need to go back, I'll-" Clementine says, her eyes staring at Violet too hard, her words tumbling and disappearing as she discovered she didn't mean them. Her heart twisting and spinning in her chest, the sight of Violet: shoulders raised sharp and eyes so cold. She wasn't going to back down. She smelt, felt and looked like a fight. 

Clementine feels awful for wanting her to crumble. Wanting her to leave Aasim behind. To leave Clementine to get him. To get herself out of the danger- to destroy the part of Clementine's brain that was adamant this would end with her carrying Violet's lifeless corpse back to the school.  

Clementine feels fucking terrified, utterly fucking terrified at the fact that part of her wants to see Violet fight and scrap and drag herself to Aasim. Her feet kicking, arms swinging back and mouth spitting at the raiders. 

Clementine feels fucking useless and scared and awful and fuck. Fuck. 

"That's where I found Louis, Aasim isn't down there," Clementine states, her eyes glued to Violet's back, moving fast to keep Violet in her line of vision. Her heart feeling as if it had thousands of tiny hands trying to grab and pull at Violet: trying to get her to stay, trying to get her to look at Clementine, trying to get her to speak and trying to do something.  

"Fuck," Violet shouts with her hands moving to grab and scratch at her face. Her feet stopping, the thought that Aasim was already lying dead somewhere clawing at her brain. 

Clementine takes in a deep breath, her whole body feeling as if it was being dosed in pain. Ready to be lit and turned into despair.  

A footstep further, she reached out her hand to Violet's back- a need to hold, comfort and calm Violet pumping through her veins like blood. Her fingers outstretched, ready to connect and comfort her physically.  

"We're going to get him back," Clementine tells her, her fingers latching onto Violet's jacket. Her voice desperate and determined- unsure. Lying.  

Violet turns slowly, her eyes tainted with sadness before she wraps her arms tightly round Clementine's middle. Her head dipped deep into Clementine's neck, her body weight pushed onto Clementine. The stress, the pain and the guilt of being a leader grinding everything inside of her and making her useless and weightless- only held up by Clementine. 

Clementine takes in a deep breath, her fingers resting in Violet's forest of hair. Her arms wrapping around Violet, trying to get all of the physical contact she could. Her heart calming in her chest, the certainty that Violet was here in her arms safe with no critical wounds of any kind: it makes her feel logical again, makes her feel like herself.  

"I- I'm not my best without you, I was worrying too much," Violet admits before pressing a sweet and soft kiss to Clementine's neck. Her hands still clinging at Clementine too tightly, her voice still needy like a dog waiting to be fed and her lips still as soft as they always were.  

"I was more worried," Clementine tells her, pulling Violet's head back before tenderly kissing her forehead. Her hands lingering on Violet's cheeks, slowly rubbing them with affection.  

"This isn't a competition Clem," Violet says, taking a hold of Clementine's hands and holding them tightly like she was afraid Clementine would disappear. 

Clementine wouldn't be surprised if Violet actually thought she'd disappear- it happened to Minnie after all. 

"Everything's a competition if you try hard enough," Clementine replies, slipping her hands from Violet's slowly and regretfully. Her eyes lingering on Violet, looking up and down, taking in Violet's frame in fear that it would be her last look. Her bow being quickly raised, ready (as always) to fire and protect herself and Violet.  

* * *

 

Hope for Aasim being alive and well dwindled as they got further and further into the building with no sign of anyone. Violet's cleaver pointed downwards: unprepared for a fight. Clementine's eyes scanning their surroundings quickly: stupidly naïve and unprepared for a fight.  

"Where the fuck is he?" Violet commands, stopping in the middle of the corridor to press her frustration into the ground with a couple of stomps. One of her hands clawing at her face in agony, the knowledge that this was all her fault tearing her up inside.  

A shitty leader that couldn't protect her friends- it was putting her on fucking edge. 

Clementine's footsteps pause a couple of footsteps in front of Violet. Her body twists slowly to comfort Violet, to reassure her with words she didn't believe herself and to hold her again until she felt ready to move forward again. 

Her mouth opens to call out to Violet, her feet move to join Violet- until arms hook underneath Violet's arms and pull her backwards. 

Immediately, Violet's arms and legs kick and fly as the woman behind her dragged her by her arms. Violet's cleaver swinging around her in a circle, the reflections off of it blinding Clementine but unsuccessfully hitting the woman behind her. Her mouth screaming and screaming and screaming curse words as the lady dragged her backwards. Her feet trying to clutch at the floor and grip to it- trying to stop herself from being taken and becoming another one of Marlon's dirty secrets.  

Clementine runs before she registers what is happening, the bow dropping out of her hands to dig for the knife hiding in her sleeve. Her feet sliding across the floor, threatening to plant her face to the floor as she aims the knife to the woman's face.  

Her heart jumbles around in her chest and leaps, as she nearly buries the knife into the woman's forehead. Her breath stuttering and shaking, her heart silenced and scared as the knife gets further and further away from the woman- Violet further and further away from her as somebody behind her shoots an arrow into her leg. 

The corridor spins as Clementine falls to the floor. Her arms quickly catching her from falling face first before clawing at the floor- desperately trying to crawl to Violet. The pain in her leg growing and growing as she forces it to move forward, to desperately try to bring Violet back into her arms. 

Fear settles in her stomach as the woman's face disappears, Violet's silhouette becoming more and more pronounced as shadows cover everything around her.  

"Fucking- Clem!" Violet screams and a wrecked noise escapes Clementine. Her fingers scratching at the floor, her feet trying to level onto the floor. The arrow still deep in her leg.  

Frightened bubbles of fear pop and sizzle in Clementine's stomach as she finally stands. Her arms moving as fast as they can to compensate for her legs as she tries with all her might to run to Violet. Hope and desperation mingling into one as Violet becomes clearer and clearer to her eyes. Anticipation and fear and yearning swimming through her head as she watches Violet fight the woman with all her might, her own hands gripping at the knife ready to try and dig into the woman behind Violet's skull again. 

"Clem!" Violet screams again, and Clementine doesn't understand it until hands grab at her own feet and drag her to the ground. 

Clementine huffs, her hands once again clawing at the ground as someone grips tightly at her ankles, the arrow buried deep into her leg twisting and breaking in the wound. Her nails breaking and splitting as she tried to cling onto the cracks in the wooden floor. 

Her heart squeezing so hard she would afraid it would burst, the sight of Violet screaming and kicking and looking her that way ('not again' written across her face in blood) making her try harder and harder. Her mouth getting drier and drier as she forced her leg to move, the arms dragging her body backwards getting firmer and firmer on her ankles.  

The lights above her getting further and further away from her as the person dragged her away- Violet turning from a rowdy and dangerous hound into a scared and frightened pup sitting in the rain.  

"Not-" Violet shouts, the words spitting out of her mouth like a taboo, stopping before she could say 'again'. Her hands somehow able to wrangle the cleaver in her hand so it was the wrong way around, her feet kicking swiftly at the woman's legs before she rammed the back of her cleaver into the lady's skull.  

Clementine reaches out her hands, stupidly thinking that she could catch Violet as Violet fell to the floor, face first. Her face smashing the floor, a crunch noise settling over the sounds of screaming, the dragging of their bodies and footsteps. 

Clementine takes in a breath, one of her legs wrangling out of the person's reach with her hand grabbing at Violet's. Her mind becoming a one way road, her fingers pressing at Violet's wrist and breaking itself apart as she waits for a pulse. Her fingers gripping at Violet's wrist, dragging her with her own body as the person behind her continued to drag Clementine backwards.  

"Violet!" Clementine wailed, the pulse beneath her fingers strong as she shook Violet's arm frantically. A breath escaping her as Violet lifted her head- her bloody eyes, the blood dripping at every crevice of her face and her nose crooked and broken, was not a concern to Clementine.  

As long as Violet didn't die like the others. Just as long as she didn't die.  

Violet sprung to life seemingly at Clementine's words, one of her hands gripping at her cleaver while the other frantically tried to scrub the blood out of her eyes. Her legs springing upwards like she was a frog and bolting in front of her, her cleaver swinging at everything in front of her but mostly at the man gripping at Clementine- his ear, and then the middle of her forehead, the finishing blow at one of his eyes.  

Clementine lets out a nervous breath, her arms pulling herself up to sit up. Her hands immediately moving to dig into the wound at her leg, her fingers crawling into her own skin and pulling out all of the big pieces of wood stuck in her skin. Her other hand moving herself backwards, eager to feel Violet's skin against her own- to feel that she was alive and well and here.  

Her eyes closing in relief as her back pressed against Violet's warm chest, her head slotting into Violet's neck.  

A slow panic revisiting her as Violet didn't relax or wrap her arms around her. Clementine's fingers quickly gripping at the bloody splinters of wood grasped in her hands. 

"It's you, Clem?" Violet asks, and the wood slips out of Clementine's hands. A soft hum simmering out of her body as Violet slung her arms around Clementine.  

Her stomach feeling as if it was on fire. The happiness of being back in Violet's arms making her head feel fuzzy, the euphoria of not only Clementine but Violet escaping death making adrenaline linger in her bones.  

The relief that people like her, people like Violet could for once get a happy-ish, sort of, ending making her eyes prick with tears.  

Violet's breath panicked and erratic, quickly and warmly being pressed against Clementine's ear. Her hands covered in blood, swiping across Clementine's clothes. Her lips grazing against Clementine's neck every once in a while, making sure that her arms weren't deceiving her. Her movements jerky and frantic- an old ghost of pain and guilt and loss taking over her body and making her cling to Clementine a little too tightly.  

The tension and fear seeping out of the two of them like sweat (and along with sweat).  

"I really thought that- I thought that I was gonna miss my chance to kiss you again, y'know with being dead," Violet says, and Clementine pulls Violet's arms tighter around her. Her body shuffling backwards to rest even closer against Violet's. 

Her heart feeling tired, as if it was reeling out all the stress and pain she had gone through today. Her hands cold, colder than Violet's ever were but still gripping at them as if she had the right to steal away Violet's warmth. As if she belonged in Violet's arms- as if she actually belonged somewhere. 

She remembers Lee telling her to keep moving, a ghostly dead look on his face. It hurts but she doesn't have the energy to try and fight it off.  

She thinks about how she had always thought that meant she couldn't have a home, somewhere to belong. She thinks she interpreted it wrong- she thinks Violet could be home, maybe. 

Stupidity- Violet was close to death just a few moments ago. Violet wasn't long lasting like a home, it was irrational.  

But with exhaustion seeping through every vein in her body and pain stinging in her leg, she couldn't argue with herself anymore.  

"You forgot that one," A voice says from in front of Clementine. A glint of a knife shining in Clementine's eyes. A squelching sound of blood erupting from a wound covering the atmosphere like a blanket. 

Clementine huffs with annoyance, her hands wriggling in Violet's arm trying to grab at any nearby weapons.  

Her eyebrows furrowing as Violet stayed stiff and solid, body still and soft like a teddy bear.  

"Minnie?" Violet asks, and Clementine sinks back into Violet's arms. Relaxed. Calm.  

"Here, I'll help you both up. Aasim's waiting at the entrance," Minnie states, and Clementine thanks fuck, shit, dickhead, twat and prick that Minnie decided trivial drama was for later. 

**Author's Note:**

> i might make another fic about minnie reuniting with tenn after this fic happens but no promises hgiuerhu. also i hate how this ended it feels unfinished but i think? its best if it feels like that? idk im an amateur writer fihrgeiygh


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